Website Pros Site Add-Ons - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

General information about CGI Programs?
General Information about CGI programs
Best way to use Tech Support
Where do I find program Documentation? What are permissions and how do I set them on a directory or file?

AdBanner FAQ's
My banners are not appearing on the webpage? I have them all setup - but none appear.
I put my SSI tag at the top of the page - but when I view the source - it is gone.
I want to put the banner somewhere besides the top of the page - can I?
Can I use more than one banner on a page?
Can I make the advertiser's page break out of the frames with the target tag?

Add-A-Link FAQ's
I get an error that says I am "Missing a Database file"
How do I edit a category?
Can add a link be used to track things other than links?

Bulletin Board (BBS) FAQ's
When I post a message - I get a can't open file error? Why?
I want to keep people from adding more discussions to the group. Can I .?
I want to get rid of a message. How do I do it?

WebChat FAQ's
How do I create a private room with a permanant password?
Can I kick obnoxious people from a room?
I logged in as the admin - but I never appeared on the user list. Why?
Why are there no buttons like the documentation talks about in my rooms?
I want to let users create a transient room - but I don't see how.
When I try to kick someone out of the room - I get a message that I can't do that?
I got an error - could not open XXXXX file - but the room seems to work fine.
My chatroom seems really slow compared to JAVA chat.

Classified Ads FAQ's
I get an error message that the program cannot find/open one of the ad catagory *.cfg (configuration) files.
I get an error message that the program cannot find/open one of the ad catagory storage/db files.

Forms Manager FAQ's
How do I use several forms pages on my web site.
I want my form output to be e-mailed to the user.
I want the users e-mail address, entered in the form, to appear as the "return address" in the forms e-mail.
I get an error immediately after submitting the form.
I get an error when I click on the submit button on the confirmation page.

Hits Counter FAQ's
How do I install the standard counter on multiple web pages?
How do I install the graphical counter on multiple web pages?
Can I make the counter invisible?

Page Launcher FAQ's
How can I use PageLauncher as a navigator to my web site?
When using PageLauncher in frames version, how do I get the launched web page to appear in the left frame?

Password Access FAQ's
I get an error message saying "cannot open .htaccess file.
I get an error message saying "parameter missing directory".
I get an error message saying "cannot open admin.html file".

Polling/Survey FAQ's
How do I install several polls pages on my web site.

Shopping Cart FAQ's
SECURE TRANSACTIONS - How do I make the shopping cart transactions secure?
I do not see all purchased products on the review or checkout web pages.
I get an error saying the program cannot open file "cart...."
I don't want to return to the "kiosk.html" page from my product pages.

Trivia FAQ's
I get an error opening the answer.txt file

Webpage Builder FAQ's
How do I modify Webbuilder's look and feel?

General information about CGI Programs?
A general understanding about CGI programs will help you in getting started using them.
CGI software is a program that resides on your web site and helps make your web page more powerful, adding interactivity that does not exist with web pages alone. CGI programs vary from other programs you are accustomed to using on your computer in one dramatic way.
In the Windows or MAC environment, the program, (a word processor, for example) has the user interface built into the program. This is the screen you use to select program options, and enter information in using the program.

In the case of CGI programs on your web site, the program has no user interface. Your web page is the interface used to talk to the program - send the program data. So when you are setting up a web-based CGI program, you are actually building one-half of the total software program. Your web page is the program interface.

In the less sophisticated programs, such as hits counter, or page launcher, it is relatively easy to cut-&-paste html language from the web pages installed by QuickTools. In other programs, the install program can ask enough questions to build most of the web page as you directly desire. An example of this is polling/survey, classified ads, bulletin board, and database search engine. You have only to add your titles, graphics, and backgrounds to tailor the page(s) to your web site.

Other more sophisticated programs, such as you will find in the 'commerce' pack, require a higher degree of web page interface. In these cases, the install program builds a working "model" for you. You can then use the web pages in the "model" as a template to cut-&-paste the needed html tags onto your web page and modify the information as desired.

If you are just getting started with building web pages, it may take you some time to familiarize yourself with html language. Or you may want to get assistance from a web page developer. TabNet is offering these programs at minimum cost, compared to being purchased on the Internet, (some cost thousands of dollars per application). So if you need help in web page interface development, you're many light-years ahead.

What's the best way to use Tech Support?
To get the quickest and most effective help from QuickTools tech support, here's a few tips:

Use the QuickTools Trouble Ticket as an easy way to contact us, or email to support@quicktools.com. Make sure you include your domain name, User ID, and the name of the QuickTools program about which you are inquiring.

Be as specific as you can about what the exact actions you took before encountering a problem. For example: I loaded the formsmgr.html page. I entered information in the text blocks, and clicked on the submit button. I then received an error message.

As best you can, report the exact action the program took when the problem occured. For example, if the program reported an error message, give us the text of that error message.

These suggestions will take you a few moments, but the more detailed information we receive from you, the easier it is for us to give you the exact action to take to overcome an error. Each QuickTools application has a self-diagnosing module built into the program and it will automatically direct an error report to tech support. However, if you follow up with a message about the actions taken, we'll be able to help you even faster.

Where do I fiind Program Documentation?
You may branch to the QuickTools area from the TabNet web site - under the "services" page, or go directly to . Select the link to the program in which you are interested. This will take you to a program information area, from which you may see online documents, as well as retrieve information about program features, see a working demo, branch to this support section, find links to other sites using the program, and branch to install the program.

A good suggestion is to download the text version of the online documents, open the file in a text editor, and print them out. The printed version is easier to work with while modifying your program web pages.

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What are permissions and how do I set them on a directory or file?
On a unix server, every directory and file possess certain rights or permissions as to who can access the directory or file and what kind of access is allowed. This property give you a level of security regarding unauthorized use of your web site's resources.

Permissions involve two criteria:
Who is permitted access, and
What kind of access.
Who is permitted access is divided into three catagories:

owner
The directory or file owner is you, the web site owner.
group
Every directory and file belongs to a particular group, and
other
Other is everyone else, usually called "world" or "all" - people using the site by browser access.

What kind of access that is permitted in divided into three catagories:

read
This allows the directory or file to be read.
write
This allows the directory or file to be written to,
execute
This assigns executable permissions to a directory or file so
a cgi program or it's operations are permitted.

Setting Permissions of a file:
File permissions may be set with either most ftp programs or
a telnet program:

To set permissions on a file with your FTP program:
FTP into your website and travel to the directory containing the file for which you wish to set permissions.
Highlight the file, and click the right mouse button. A drop-down list box will appear with a series of check boxes allowing permissions to be selected.

Choices are: read, write, and execute for three
classifications of users: owner, group, and others. Select the checkbox for the permissions you wish. Then click on the "OK" button.

To set permissions by using a TELNET program:
Telnet into your web site and move into the directory
containing the file for which you wish to set permissions. Do
this by using the "cd" command. Type:

cd /drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/directory_name
Then to set permissions of the file, type the"chmod" (change mode) command:

chmod permissions filename
Where permissions are entered by using a character to denote
who you are giving the permissions to, a (+) sign, and
the type of permission(s) given. For example:
You give permissions to (o) owner, (g) group, (a) all others,

And the permissions types are (r) read, (w) write, and (x)
execute.

So if you wanted to give the owner both read and write
permissions on a file named index.html, the syntax would be:

chmod o+rw index.html
Or you may remove permissions by using the minus (-) sign
instead of the (+).
chmod g-w index.html
would remove "write" permissions by the group.

Setting Permissions of a directory:
Permissions on a directory may usually be set only with a
TELNET program. Check with the documentation of your FTP
program to verify this.
Telnet into your server, type in the path to the directory
above the directory you wish to set permissions on (parent directory).
Let's assume you want to set permissions on a directory immediately under your main documents directory. Then to get to the parent directory, type:

cd /drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/ Then to set permissions on the directory, using the "chmod" command as described above, type: chmod permissions directory_name

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AdBanner FAQ's

My banners are not appearing on the webpage? I have them all setup - but none appear.
First, check to make sure you have properly entered the SSI correctly and that you have either named the page with a shtml extension or have used the .htaccess file for the directory to let the server know there will be a SSI. Now check to make sure your banner has rotations left and that the dates for those rotations are current. Now also check the url of the image manually by typing it into the browser to view the image. Often - the url of the banner is incomplete. ssi

I put my SSI tag at the top of the page - but when I view the source - it is gone.
SSI tags do not show in the source code of the document. The tag is replaced at the server with the appropriate action.

I want to put the banner somewhere besides the top of the page - can I?
Yes - you may use the SSI like almost any regular link to an image. Remember how much space you have alotted for the banners so there are no surprises when the image replaces the tag. It is often convienient to use table structure to lock the position of the tag.

Can I use more than one banner on a page?
Yes - you may use as many banners on a page as you wish. Each call will execute a new roulette rotation.

Can I make the advertiser's page break out of the frames with the target tag?
The SSI doesn't recognize a target tag currently. It can be done - on a site by site modification to sendurl.cgi. Contact Support for assistance with that modification.

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Add-A-Link FAQ's

I get an error that says I am "Missing a Database file"
The most probable cause is that the file, '*.db', and/or the 'storage' sub-directory do not have proper read/write permissions. A *.db file is created for each addalink category when a submission is entered for the first time. So, if this is the first link added to the system in this category, the program is not able to create the file.

That means that the /storage sub-directory does not have the proper permissions. If a link has been submitted before to this category.db file, then the permissions are probably fine on the '/storage' directory, but the "categoryname.db" file is corrupted or does not have the proper permissions.

Sometimes if the program is having difficulty in creating the file for the first time, you might create an "empty" file by the category.db name and FTP it to your server. Set the proper permissions. An additional benefit to doing this is that it insures that the file is "owned" by the website owner.

You may set permissions on the "storage" directory and/or the *.db file with some FTP programs, but will with all TELNET programs.

IF USING TELNET TO SET DIRECTORY PERMISSIONS:

Telnet into your web site and type: cd /drv1/web/sites/your_userID/addlink
To set permissions on the 'storage' subdirectory, type: chmod 775 storage
Then to move into the storage directory, type: cd storage
To set read/write permissions on the *.db file, type: cd 664 filename.db

IF USING FTP PROGRAM TO SET PERMISSIONS:
You can set permissions on files with most FTP programs, and some allow you to set permissions on directories. FTP into your server and into the 'storage' subdirectory. highlight the *.db file and click the right mouse button. From the drop-down menu, select 'chmod (UNIX) select the 'read' checkboxes for all the users, 'owner' and 'group' and select the 'write' checkboxes for 'owner' and 'group'.

How do I edit a category
Download the CATEGORY.html file and the CATEGORY.db file for the category you wish to edit. (Be sure and FTP using ASCII mode - Text mode for MAC's).

Edit the CATEGORY.db file to remove the entry(s) you wish to remove. ie. "AAcme Corp.","Mary Martin","sales@aacme.com","http://aacme.com","This is a test listing for Aacme Corporation.","mary"

Edit the CATEGORY.html file to remove the same entry(s) as removed above. ie."http://aacme.com" AAcme Corp.: E-Mail "sales@aacme.com" Mary Martin
This is a test listing for Aacme Corporation.

Upload both files back to the same directory using FTP in ASCII mode (Text mode for MAC's). Change the permissions on the CATEGORY.db file to 644 and insure the permissions on the CATEGORY.html file are 664.

Can add a link be used to track things other than links?
Yes - You can change the format so that add link becomes a simple guestbook that files everyone in alphabetical order. Ask for their state first and then they will all be organized by state or country.

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Bulletin Board (BBS) FAQ's

When I post a message - I get a can't open file error?? Why?
When you install the bbs - all the directories and files you initially create have the correct file permissions. When you add a directory or alter the threads.cfg you may have neglected to set the proper permissions for the directories. The script must be able to read, write and execute from the directory. The names of directories are also case sensitive. If they name does not match the threads.cgf file 100% - the script won't find the directory.

I want to keep people from adding more discussions to the group. Can I .?
Yes. In the bbs.cfg edit the keep first post variable to N.

I want to get rid of a message. How do I do it?
FTP in and look for the message post.message.name...... file and delete it via FTP

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WebChat FAQ's

How do I create a private room with a permanant password?
Go to the admin.cgi and enter a new room name and then click the checkbox that will make room private and then enter the password. A new room will be created when you press submit.

Can I kick obnoxious people from a room?
Yes, during setup you were asked for a Admin login. It defaulted to (admin). Anyone who logs in with that user name can kick anyone out of any room.

I logged in as the admin - but I never appeared on the user list. Why?
You admin login is only as secure as you keep it. It is not shown on login so that you can quietly police room users and so that your admin login remains just that.

Why are there no buttons like the documentation talks about in my rooms?
The media button feature has now been replaced by the ability to input html or links. During setup - you can choose to allow these features. The default is restrictive. You can also allow them by altering the $AllowLink and $AllowHTML variables in the globals.def file. 0=off 1= on.

I want to let users create a transient room - but I don't see how.
During setup - you were asked to either allow transient rooms or not to allow them. You can change your choice by changing the $AllowTrans variable in the globals.def.

When I try to kick someone out of the room - I get a message that I can't do that?
As the admin.. You will be able to kick people out of the room. The errors are to discourage those who try to guess your admin login or those who are not authorized to kick people out.

I got an error - could not open XXXXX file - but the room seems to work fine.
Due to several script instances attempting to share room files - occasionally the files will be in use by another chat room user and the request will time out. This is a normal random occurance that should not affect the room operation.

My chatroom seems really slow compared to JAVA chat.
The speed of CGI based chat is dependant on the server load. When the number of users increases slightly - the efficiency goes up.

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Classified Ads FAQ's

I get an error message that the program cannot find one of the ad catagory *.cfg (configuration) files.
This error message occurs when the program cannot read from or write to the configuration file for an ad catagory:

Possible Solutions:
1. THE FILE DOES NOT EXIST OR IS CORRUPTED
The file may not exist in the specified directory, in which case upload the file to the server in the specified directory. If the file is corrupted, this usually occurs when the file is uploaded to your server using FTP. In order for the file to arrive on your server in clean ascii text form, insure that it is being uploaded using 'ascii' or 'text' mode and not 'binary mode'. Binary mode will corrupt the file by placing hidden characters in the text, such as carriage returns or line feeds.

2. THE FILE EXISTS BUT IS NAMED/SPELLED DIFFERENTLY
The file may exist, but may be spelled differently than is specified in the Classified.out file in the cgi directory.
/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/cgi/classified/Classified.out

This file is a system configuration file and lists your ad catagories under the parameter name of "ClassifCategories=".

Maybe the spelling difference is in upper/lower case.

The filename cannot contain any spaces. It must be one word or if more than one word, use an underscore in place of a space:
ex: "my_catagory_file.cfg"

Or the file may be spelled differently from the spelling on the web pages where the parameter "ad_category" is defined. "ad_category" is the name of the data that is sent to the program, telling the program which ad catagory is being used when a user submits a new ad, edits an existing ad, or is searching the classified ads. It appears on the following web pages: search.html, submit.html, edit.html and change.html.

3. THE FILE DOES NOT HAVE THE PROPER READ/WRITE PERMISSIONS
If the file is present and spelled alike in the config file and on the web pages, then the sub-directory containing the file or the file itself may not have the proper 'read/write' permissions.
File permissions may be set with either most ftp programs or a telnet program. If the sub-directory containing the file does not have proper permissions, directory permissions may be set with some FTP programs, but can also be set using an TELNET program, (SEE BELOW).

IF USING FTP PROGRAM TO SET FILE PERMISSIONS:
FTP into your website and travel to the '/classified/ sub-directory. Highlight the file you wish to set permissions on, and click the right mouse button. A drop-down list box will appear with a series of check boxes allowing permissions to be selected.
Choices are: read, write, and execute for three classifications of users: owner, group, and other.

For this file, select "read" permissions for owner, group, and other, and select "write" permissions for owner and group. Then click on the "OK" button.

IF USING TELNET PROGRAM TO SET DIRECTORY/FILE PERMISSIONS:
Telnet into your server, and to move to your main directory, type:
cd /drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID

then to set permissions on the 'classified' directory, type:

chmod 775 classified

if you want to set permissions on files in that directory, type:

cd classified

That moves you into your 'classified' directory, and to set permissions on a *.cfg file, type:

chmod 664 filename.cfg

This will give the proper read/write permissions on the file:

I get an error message that the program cannot open a storage/db file:
The program cannot read from or write to the storage file for this ad catagory. The *.dat files containing the classified ads are located in a sub-directory entitled 'storage' located under the /classified directory.

Possible Solutions:
1. THE FILE DOES NOT EXIST OR IS CORRUPTED
If the file does not exist in the specified 'storage' directory... The program will create the file if it does not exist, and will name the file, 'catagory_name.dat'. If the file cannot be created it is usually due to the sub-directory, '/storage' not having proper read/write permissions. Setting file permissions may be accomplished with some FTP prograrms, or with a TELNET program.

USING TELNET PROGRAM TO SET DIRECTORY PERMISSIONS:
Telnet into your server, and to move to classified directory, type:
cd /drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/classified

then to set permissions on the 'storage' directory, type:

chmod 775 storage

if you want to set permissions on files in that directory, type:

cd storage

That moves you into your 'storage' directory, and to set permissions on a *.dat file, type:

chmod 664 filename.dat

This will give the proper read/write permissions on the file:

2. THE FILE EXISTS BUT IS CORRUPTED
The file may exist, but may be corrupted for some reason. Just delete the file and if the '/storage' sub-directory has the proper read/write permissions the program will re-create the file the next time an ad is submitted in that catagory.

3. THE FILE DOES NOT HAVE THE PROPER READ/WRITE PERMISSIONS
If the file is present and spelled alike in the config file and on the web pages, then the *.dat file or the may not have the proper 'read/write' permissions.
File permissions may be set with either most ftp programs or a telnet program.

IF USING FTP PROGRAM TO SET FILE PERMISSIONS:
FTP into your website and travel to the '/classified/storage' sub-directory. Highlight the file you wish to set permissions on, and click the right mouse button. A drop-down list box will appear with a series of check boxes allowing permissions to be selected.
Choices are: read, write, and execute for three classifications of users: owner, group, and other.

For this file, select "read" permissions for all three groups: owner, group, and other,

and select "write" permissions for owner and group. Then click on the "OK" button.

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Forms Manager FAQ's

How do I use several forms pages on my web site?
The formsmgr program is designed to be called from several different web pages. On your forms web page, just after the opening form statement that calls the program, a hidden input line is used to tell the program which configuration file (*.cfg) to use with that particular form.

To create several different forms web pages, call the same formsmgr.cgi program, and just use a different configuration file for each form. Notice that you may place the configuration file anywhere you choose on your web site. Use the formsmgr.cfg file as a template and change the necessary lines in the file to accommodate each different form.

Also, make sure that all the associated files are located in the directory specified in the configuration file. If you are writing the output of the form to a file on disk, make sure that the directory and the file have "read/write" permissions.

I want my form output to be e-mailed to the user.
The formsmgr program will send the forms output to up to 10 email addresses. The paramter names for these addresses are "Address" thru "Address9". You can place these e-mail addresses in the configuration file, "formsmgr.cfg" or collect your user's email address on the form.
By default, your e-mail address is in the configuration file under the parameter name of "Address". So, on your web page where you are collecting your user's e-mail address, name that piece of information "Address2", or "Address3".

And the program will e-mail the form output to you at "Address" and to your user at "Address2". The file "mailtemplate.txt" in your formsmgr directory is used to format the e-mail. If this format template is not used, the program will send the e-mail anyway, using a default format.

I want the users e-mail address to appear in the return address position in the e-mail.
First make sure that you are using one of the ten allowable parameters as the NAME of the data where you are collecting the user's e-mail address on your form. You may use "Address" through "Address9". By default, the program will assign your e-mail address to the first e-mail address parameter - "Address". So on your form, where you are collecting your user's e-mail address, name that parameter "Address2". Then in your formsmgr.cfg (configuration file), place this parameter as the value for "FromAddress".

Notice that when you are using a parameter name instead of "literal" text, place the parameter name in curly brackets, preceeded by a dollar sign. The program will read this tag and replace it with the actual value.

[EMAIL]
Address=your_email_address
Subject=Message from Forms Manager
FromAddress=${Address2}
TemplateFile=/drv1/web/sites/your_UserID/formsmgr/mailtemplate.txt

I get an error immediately after submitting my form.
The most probable cause for this error is that the program cannot find/open the confirmation page. The confirmation page is the web page on which the program displays the data entered by your user, allowing the information to be checked for correctness.
By the way, if you choose not to use a confirmation page, just 'comment' out the following lines in your formsmgr.cfg (configuration file). You can do this by placing a pound sign ( # ) at the beginning of these lines in the configuration file:

#[CONFIRMATION_PAGE]
#File=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/confpage.html
#TemplateFile=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/conftemplate.txt

Possible Solutions to Error Message:
The page does not exist in the sub-directory in which the program expects to find it,
The page exists, but may be spelled/named differently than is indicated in the *.cfg file. That file is located in the following directory by default:
/drv1/web/sites/UserID/cgi/formsmgr/formsmgr.cfg

You may edit the formsmgr.cfg file. Look for this section in the file that controls the location and filename of the confirmation page:

[CONFIRMATION_PAGE]
File=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/confpage.html
TemplateFile=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/conftemplate.txt

You may name this file anything you choose and place it anywhere you choose, however, it is wise to keep all program files in the same directory, if just for organizational purposes.

The file exists, is spelled/named correctly, but does not have the proper permissions. This confpage.html page needs to have 'read' permissions by 'all'.

To set permissions on the file, you may use your ftp or telnet program:

If FTP:
(most ftp programs allow you to set permissions):
Proceed to the diretory containing file and highlight the file. Then click with the right mouse button. Select 'chmod (UNIX)' from the drop-down menu. Select the checkbox "Read" for owner, group, and others.

Also select the checkbox for 'write' for owner.

And click on the OK button.

If Telneting to your site:
To get to the directory, type:
cd /drv1/web/sites/your_UserID/formsmgr

to set permissions on the confpage.html file, type:

chmod 664 confpage.html

I get an error when clicking on the submit button on the confirmation page:
The formsmgr program allows you to save the input from your form in a file on your server disk. If the program gives you an error after clicking on the submit button on the confirmation page, good chance the program is attemptiing to write to the storage file and can't do so.

By the way, if you choose not to write your forms data to disk, just 'comment' out the following lines in your formsmgr.cfg (configuration file). You can do this by placing a pound sign ( # ) at the beginning of these lines in the configuration file:

#[STORAGE]
#File=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/storage/storage.txt
#Template=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/storetemplate.txt

Possible Solutions to Error Message:
The file does not exist in the sub-directory in which the program expects to find it,
The file exists, but may be spelled/named differently than is indicated in the *.cfg file. That file is located in the following directory by default:
/drv1/web/sites/UserID/cgi/formsmgr/storage/storage.txt

You may edit the formsmgr.cfg file. Look for this section in the file that controls the location and filename of the storage file:

[STORAGE]
File=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/storage/storage.txt
Template=/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/formsmgr/storetemplate.txt

You may name this file anything your choose and save it in any directory you choose, but it is wise to keep all program resources in the same directory, if only for organizational purposes.

The file exists, is spelled/named correctly, but does not have the proper permissions. This file and the directory in which it resides, must have read/write permissions.
To set permissions on the file, you may use your ftp or telnet program:

IF FTP'ING INTO YOUR SITE:
(most ftp programs allow you to set permissions)
Proceed to the diretory containing the file and highlight the file. Then click with the right mouse button. Select 'chmod (UNIX)' from the drop-down menu. Select the checkbox "Read" for owner, group, and other.

Also select the checkbox for 'write' for owner and group.

And click on the OK button.

IF TELNETTING INTO YOUR SITE:
To get to the directory, type:
cd /drv1/web/sites/your_userid/formsmgr

to set permissions on the file, type:

chmod 664 storage.txt

TO SET PROPER PERMISSIONS ON THE DIRECTORY:
You may set directory permissions only with the telnet program:
Telnet into your site and move to the directory one level above the directory on which you wish to set permissions: (the parent directory). Assuming that your files is located in a directory entitled "formsmgr", located just under your main documents directory:

To get to your main documements directory, type:

cd /drv1/web/sites/your_userid
Then to set permissions on the directory containing your storage file, type:

chmod 664 formsmgr
With this completed, you now have given the directory containing the storage file, and the storage file, the necessary permissions, so the program can read and write to the file.

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Hits Counter FAQ's
How do I install the standard hits counter on multiple web pages?
The standard hits counter is designed for easy installation on multiple web pages and to view your various reports from a single report page. The html tag for the counter looks like this:

You are visitor number:
fnam=count&viz=yes&isinv=yes&setup=/drv1/web/sites/UserID/cgi/counterxbm/setup.txt">

The "fnam" parameter stands for "file name", and is the name of the report page, located in the "/logs" sub-directory. The install program names the report page "count.html".

Placing the counter on multiple web pages:

To place the counter on additional pages, just copy the hits counter html language onto the additional web page and name the "fnam" parameter differently. For example, if you are placing the counter on a web page entitled "products.html", then "fnam=products". The report page and the web page should be named the same for clarity.

You are visitor number:
fnam=products&viz=yes&isinv=yes&setup=/drv1/web/sites/UserID/cgi/counterxbm/setup.txt">

The hits counter program will do the work for you, create count logs and report pages and store them in the "/logs" sub-directory.

Viewing Reports for several web pages:
Using your browser, view the initial report page, count.html, located in a subdirectory named "logs". This page includes a link entitled "files accessed". Click on this link and you will be presented with a list of all pages on your server on which the counter is installed.
count.html
products.html
etc.html

How do I install the graphical hits counter on multiple web pages?
The graphical hits counter is a little more involved than the standard counter, mostly because the setup.txt file has to point to the web page on which the gif counter is installed.

On the graphics hits counter, the "setup.txt" file (system configuration) file tells the program the name and directory location of the web page on which the counter is occurring. So each different web page on which the counter occurs needs it's own setup.txt file. Make a copy of the existing setup.txt file and make the changes that you need for your new page....

[PARAMETERS]
HtmlDir=/drv1/web/sites/webxxxx
HtmlUrl=http://yourdomainname.com
ScriptUrl=http://yourdomainmame.com/cgi/webxxxx/countergif/counter.cgi
AccFileName=access
GifDir=gifs
PageName=index.html
[TEMPLATES]
ReportTemplate=reptemplpro.htt
AccessTemplate=acctempl.htt
ImgTemplate=You_are_visitor_number:

(HtmlDir=) is the path to the directory containing the page on which the counter occurs,
(HtmlUrl=) is the URL to the directory in which the web page occurs, and

(PageName=) is the name of the web page on which the counter occurs.

Name the new setup file anything you choose...."setup2.txt" or by some name that relates to the web page that this setup file serves. Copy the new file back to your server in the "/cgi/countergif" sub-directory. Just make sure that you are editing the file in a text editor that can save the file in pure ascii text format.
And when you ftp the file back to your server, insure that the file is transferred in ascii/text mode, not binary mode. Binary mode will place hidden characters in the file, such as carriage returns or line feeds. This will trip up the program when reading the file.

Then, on your additional web page on which the counter occurs, make the following changes to your "br>
1. setup file - in the second part of the html language, where you are pointing to the location and name of the setup file for this page, change the name of the setup file that you have created for this web page. In this example, "setup2.txt".

2. fnam - The "fnam" parameter tells the program the name of the report page that is to be created for this web page. The report page for the first page is named "count". The program creates a main report page in the "logs" sub-directory named "count.html".

For your additional web page on which the counter occurs, it is a good idea to set the "fnam=" value as the same name as the web page on which the counter occurs, then when you view your reports, the report name and the web page name to which that report applies are the same.

Just use the pagename for "fnam" value, no .html extension.
You are visitor number:

TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Locator Phrase: The program uses the text phrase preceeding the graphical numerals to locate the position of the counter on the page. The phrase, "You are Visitor number:", by default, being a placement locator, must be the only text on the line. IT MUST BE ON A LINE BY ITSELF AS INDICATED ABOVE.

2. WebPage Permissions: When a web page containing the graphical counter is requested by a browser, the program reads the page from the server disk, increments the counter and saves the web page back to disk...so that the counter has been increased by one the next time it is accessed. This means that the web page must have "read" and "write" permissions. Permissions on this page should be set to 664 or "read" by all, and "writable" by owner and group.

If you need assistance with setting file permissions, see What are permissions and how to set them, on the FAQ page of this support section.

Then when viewing your reports, load http://yourdomainname.com/logs/count.html.

You will see a link to "files accessed". The program will automatically create the report pages for each page on which you have the counter installed, and will automatically create links to each report page under this "files accessed..." link.

Can I make the counter invisible?
Using the hits counter in invisible form is a good way to track the activity across your web pages, determining traffic count by site content. In the hits counter html tag on your web page, make the counter invisible, by setting the "vis" parameter, (standing for visible), to "no".

You are visitor number:

The counter will be invisible but the logging and reporting operations will continue just the same.

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Page Launcher FAQ's
How can I use PageLauncher as a navigator to my web site?
Page Launcher, when used in the frames version, is a great tool to create a navigator to your web site. The benefits are that every page on your web site is the next page in your user's browser. All possible links to your web site remain constantly visible.

When installing page launcher, select frames version, and list URL's to web pages on your site as the links to appear in the drop-down list box.

The main page to your frames version is frames.html:

That page defines the names of your two frames:

'main' is the right frame...loads main1.html page
'menu' is the left frame...loads menu.html, containing the pagelauncher drop-down menu

<html>
<head>
<title>FRAME</title>
</head>
<frameset cols="250,*">
<frame name="menu" src="http://your_domain.com/pagelauncher/menu.html">
<frame name="main" src="http://your_domain.com/pagelauncher/main1.html" scrolling="auto">
</frameset>
</frameset>
</body>
</html>

Simply perform the following three operations:

1. Direct the desired web page to appear in the "main" frame:
If you want your existing "index.html" page to appear in the "main" frame, then rename it to "main1.html". Notice above, this is the name of the page to appear in the frame named "main".

2. Change the name of frames.html:
Change the name of frames.html to whatever you choose. If you want it to be your main index.html page and be loaded when the user enters your domain name in the browser, then rename frames.html to index.html.

3. Copy all pages into your main documents directory:
Copy all page launcher pages into your main documents directory. This will give you a frames version of your site, with the narrow left frame containing a drop-down list box that is a navigator to your website, and the large right frame being the window into all pages of your web site.

When using PageLauncher in frames version, how do I get the launched web page to appear in the left frame?
To have your linked pages appear in the left frame:
Your main pagelauncher page is entitled 'frames.html'...That page defines the names of your two frames:

'main' is the right frame...loads main1.html page
'menu' is the left frame...loads menu.html page

frames.html looks like this:

<html>
<head>
<title>FRAME SHOP</title>
</head>
<frameset cols="250,*">
<frame name="menu" src="http://your_domain.com/pagelauncher/menu.html">
<frame name="main" src="http://your_domain.com/pagelauncher/main1.html" scrolling="auto">
</frameset>
</frameset>
</body>
</html>
On the menu.html page, where the web page calls the pagelauncher program, notice that the program is told in which frame you want the page being loaded to appear: like this:

Simply change the 'target = "main" to:

target="menu">

I get an error message saying cannot open .htaccess file.
The .htaccess file is one of three files created by the 'password' program when creating security for a new directory. This file is somewhat like a configuration file and exists in your new "protected" directory, along with .htgroup and .htpasswd.

Possible Problem Number 1:
The .htaccess file is not being created by the program:
If you are creating a "protected" directory under the program directory entitled "password", you will probably not have any problem with directory permissions. The "child" directory will ususally take on the permissions of the "parent" directory. If you are attempting to "protect" a directory in a location other than under the "password" directory, then you will probably need to set directory permissions manually.

If you have attempted to create a security system in a directory other than under the "password" directory and it does not have read/write permissions, then the program would not be able to create the three ".ht...." files. You can check this by ftp'ing into the directory to see if the files exist.

If they do not exist, then you will have to set the proper directory permissions by using your telnet program.

Telnet to your server - 'cd' into the "parent" directory - the directory above the directory on which you want to set permissions, which would be the "child" directory. To do this type:

cd /drv1/web/sites/UserID/path_to_parent_directory
To set permissions on the directory, type the following:

chmod 775 DirectoryName
This will make the directory 'readable/writable by 'all', necessary since the password program is creating files in this directory, and reading from/writing to files once created.
Run the program again from your admin.html page, and re-execute the 'create password security' section again.

Possible Problem Number 2:
The .htaccess file exists. In this case the ".ht..." files do not have the proper permissions, "read/write" permissions by "others", resulting in the program not being able to read from or write to the file. Setting permissions so the file may be read from and/or written to. File permissions may be set with either most ftp programs or a telnet program:

To set permissions on a file with ftp:
FTP into your website and travel to the 'protected' sub-directory. Highlight the file you wish to set permissions on, and click the right mouse button. A drop-down list box will appear with a series of check boxes allowing permissions to be selected.
Choices are: read, write, and execute for three classifications of users: owner, group, and others. For this file, select "read" permissions for owner, group, and others, and select "write" permissions for owner and group. Then click on the "OK" button.

Do this for all three files, .htaccess, .htgroup, and .htpasswd.

If you are setting permissions on these files, by telnet,
move into the 'protected' directory, and type the following for each of the files:

chmod 664 .htaccess
and
chmod 664 .htgroup
and

chmod 664 .htpassword

I get an error message saying "parameter missing directory".
Possible Problems:
The program is not receiving the directory path to the sub-directory it is to use to create a 'security' system, or
The program has created a security system on a sub-directory, but could not find the directory when you are adding/deleting a user.

Problem Number 1:
(see below for solution to Number Two):
Load the admin.html page in your browser. This is the page used to admimister the password system.

http://yourdomainname.com/password/admin.html
Password access security is created by protecting a sub-directory or your server and all the files contained within that directory:
The program creates three files in the 'protected' sub-directory:

.htaccess
.htgroup
.htpasswd
When creating a new 'protected' area on your server, the very first input line on the admin.html page asks for the full directory path to the sub-directory to protect.
Make sure the path is a full directory path. Let's assume you want to locate a 'protected' directory under the '/password' directory and call it 'secure'. Then type into the first input box, the following:

/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/password/secure
Enter the group name (one word) and Title of the protected area and click on the "Establish Security" button.
This will create the sub-directory if it does not exist on your server and place the three files within the directory.

If you are protecting a sub-directory located other than under the '/password' directory, you'll need to make sure the directory you are 'protecting' has full read/write permissiions so the program can read from and write to it's three files. You may want to create the directory before you use the 'establish security' section of your admin.html page.

After creating the ddirectory, give it the proper read/write permissions:

Permissions on a directory may be set only with telnet:

Telnet into your server, type in the path to the directory above the directory you wish to protect (parent directory), something like:

cd /drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/
then assuming you've created a directory named "secure" under your main documents directory, type:

chmod 664 secure
then run the 'create security' section of your admin.html web page, and in the first input line enter the following path:
/drv1/web/sites/your_userID/secure The program will create the three files in this directory. Proceed to entering a name and password to authorize a user. The program will indicate that this name has been entered into the group name you've assigned to this directory.

If you have an error in writing to any of the three files in the 'protected' directory,you may need to set permissions on the three files.

Setting permissions so the file may be read from and/or written to. File permissions may be set with either most ftp programs or a telnet program:

To set permissions on a file with ftp:
FTP into your website and travel to the 'protected' sub-directory. Highlight the file you wish to set permissions on, and click the right mouse button. A drop-down list box will appear with a series of check boxes allowing permissions to be selected.
Choices are: read, write, and execute for three classifications of users: owner, group, and others. For this file, select "read" permissions for owner, group, and others, and select "write" permissions for owner and group. Then click on the "OK" button.

Do this for all three files: .htaccess, .htpasswd, and .htgroup.

If you are setting permissions on these files, by telnet,
move into the 'protected' directory, and type the following for each of the files:

chmod 664 .htaccess
and
chmod 664 .htgroup
and chmod 664 .htpassword
Problem Number 2:
The program has created a security system on a sub-directory, but could not find the directory when you are adding/deleting a user.
This problem exists when the security system is created but cannot find the directory, when attempting to add or delete a user in the system. Immediately after creating a security system on a new directory, the program will display the admin.html page. At the top of the page, it is showing you that the system has been created, and it will also write the "group" name in the drop-down list box where you select a group when adding or deleting authorized names.

Either add names in this version of the admin.html page or if you return to your standard admin.html page, make sure you see the 'group' names in the drop-down list box. You may need to "re-load" the page to see the group name in the page, as the "un-altered" admin.html page may still be in your browser's cache.

When you select a group name and add or delete a user, your system should work fine.

If the problem still exists, then you should look in the password.cfg file to make sure the program wrote the directory name into this configuration file. The configuration file is located in the following location:

/drv1/web/sites/Your_userID/cgi/password/password.cfg
The program creates an area in the .cfg file that lists each group that is created and the directory path to the "protected" directory associated with that group - for example:
[DIRECTORIES]
# group=directory
Quicktools=/drv1/web/sites/your_UserID/password/secure

When a user is added to the group "Quicktools", the program opens the password.cfg file, reads the directory name from the [DIRECTORIES] list, and goes to the files in that directory to either add or delete that person from the .htgroup and .htpasswrd files.

Make sure that the password.cfg file has read/write permissions. It could be that the program was unable to write to or read from this section.

chmod 664 password.cfg
If the file has permissions, then you can run the 'create security system' again, or manually add the "group name=directory path" line in the password.cfg file.

I get an error message saying "cannot open admin.html file".
Possible Problems:
When the program creates a new directory to protect, it writes to the admin.html page - adding the name of the group in the drop-down list box from which the group is selected when adding/deleting persons from the system....
This means that the admin.html file requires 'read/write' permissions...

Please use telnet or ftp program to set permissions, whichever you are most familiar.

IF FTP'ING INTO YOUR SERVER:
Most ftp programs allow you to set file permissions. Move into the 'password' directory and highlight the 'admin.html' file. Click on the right mouse button and a drop-down memu will appear.
Select the 'chmod (UNIX)' choice. You will see a window for setting file permissions. Permissions can be set for 'owner', 'group', and 'other'. Each file can possess permissions to be read, written to, or executable.

In the checkboxes provided:

set the permissions to READ by 'all three' - owner, group, and other. and set the permissions for WRITE by owner and group.

Click on the 'OK' button to set the permissions.

IF TELNETTING INTO YOUR SERVER:
1. telnet into your website and to get into the password directory, type:

cd /drv1/web/sites/your_UserID/password
2. to set permissions on the admin.html file, type

chmod 664 admin.html

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Polling/Survey FAQ's
How do I use several polls/surveys pages on my web site?
The polling.cgi program is designed to be called from several different web pages. On your poll/survey web page, just after the opening form statement that calls the program, a hidden input line can be used to tell the program which configuration file (*.cfg) to use with that particular poll.

<form method="POST" action="http://your_domain.com/cgi/Your_UserID/polling/polling.cgi"> <input type="HIDDEN" name="ConfigFile" value="/drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/directory_name/config_filename.cfg">
value="/drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/directory_name/config_filename.cfg">

NOTICE: The new updated version has a few slight changes in the configuration file, so make sure that the old configuration file is not used with the new version.

To create several different survey web pages, call the same polling.cgi program, and just use a different configuration file for each poll. Notice that you may place the configuration file anywhere you choose on your web site. Use the polling.cfg file as a template and change the necessary lines in the file to accommodate each different survey.

Also, make sure that all the associated files are located in the directory specified in the configuration file. Make sure that the directory containing the polling files has "read/write" permissions - "chmod 775".

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Shopping Cart FAQ's
How do I make the shopping mall transactions secure?
The shopping cart transactions are made secure by use of a secure server. This is done with a "secure server" ADD-ON to the shoppro program, See the Quicktools Store.
The "secure server" program add-on, allows your user to shop in your e-commerce site on your unsecure web site, and branches to a web site on a secure server for collection of your customer's credit card information. The shopping mall upgrade also supports the TabNet "NetPayments" system, which is real-time credit card verification. Contact TabNet sales for arranging a secure web site or NetPayments.

I do not see all purchased products on the review or checkout webpages.
The "cart...." file is the temporary file used by the program to store the contents of each user's shopping cart. The probable causes for this error are as follows:

PROBABLE CAUSE NUMBER 1:
THE DIRECTORY STORING THE 'TEMP' FILES DOES NOT EXIST:
The program looks in the shoppro.cfg file, (the system configuration file) to locate the directory in which the 'temp shopping cart contents' files are to be stored:

In the shoppro.cfg file, the line controlling this location is as follows: (the install uses the following path):

$TmpDir="/drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/shoppro/tmp";
You can direct the program to place this file anywhere you choose, but the directory must have full read/write permissions.

PROBABLE CAUSE NUMBER 2:
THE DIRECTORY EXISTS BUT DOES NOT HAVE FULL 'READ/WRITE' PERMISSIONS:
The install program creates a "tmp" directory under the shoppro directory, and sets the proper read/write permissions. but if you desire to relocate the directory in which the temporary shopping cart contents files are stored:

Create the directory wherever you choose, and set directory permissions by telnetting into your web site. Move to the "parent directory", the directory above the directory on which you choose to set permissions (the child directory).

To do this, type:

cd /drv1/web/sites/UserID/path_to_parent_directory

To set permissions on the child directory, type the following:

chmod 775 DirectoryName

This will make the directory 'readable/writable by 'all', necessary since the shoppro program is creating files in this directory, and reading from/writing to files once created.

If the 'tmp' directory, containing the temporary shopping cart contents files is several directory levels down, you may need to give permissions to the upper level directories as well.

Be sure that the entry in the shoppro.cfg (configuration file) points to the directory storing the temporaty files. That entry in your shoppro.cfg file is as follows:

$TmpDir="/drv1/web/sites/Your_UserID/shoppro/tmp";

I don't want to return to the "kiosk.html" page after my product pages.
Returning to the "kiosk.html" page is controlled by the shoppro.cfg (configuration file), and the kiosk.html page is the default. If you choose to return to any other page from any of your product pages, this can be done with the "NextURL" parameter.

Just after the opening form line that calls the shoppro.cgi program on your product page, enter the following hidden input line:

Sending a value for this parameter from any product page will override the default setting in the configuration file.

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Trivia FAQ's
I get an error opening the answer.txt file
The program is unable to open/read from the answers.txt file. The program reads the answers.txt file, which is a list of correct answers for your trivia system questions, to present the owner with right/wrong responses.

PROBABLE CAUSES:

CAUSE 1: THE FILE DOES NOT EXIST IN THE SPECIFIED DIRECTORY

If the file does not exist in the specified directory, copy the file into the directory, from the program web pages directory.

CAUSE 2: THE FILE EXISTS IN THE SPECIFIED DIRECTORY, BUT IS CORRUPTED

A UNIX server demands that files such as .html pages, .txt files, .cgi programs, etc, be clean ascii TEXT files. If the file contains any hidden characters such as carriage returns or line feeds, the cgi program will be stopped at that point and will exit it's operation.

If you edited the answers.txt file and uploaded it back to your server, try this process again. Open the file in a text editor that is capable of saving a file as pure ascii text. It might also be a good idea to make sure that there is a carriage return after the last line in the file. Then save the file as text.

Then upload the file back to the server with your ftp program, making sure that the file is being transferred in ascii/text mode and not binary mode.

CAUSE 3: THE FILE MAY NOT HAVE PROPER READ/WRITE PERMISSIONS

You may set permissions on a file with either your ftp or telnet program.

USING FTP PROGRAM TO SET FILE PERMISSIONS:

Proceed to the diretory containing the 'answers.txt" file and highlight the file. Then click with the right mouse button. Select 'chmod (UNIX)' from the drop-down menu. Select the checkbox "Read" for owner, group, and other. Also select the checkbox for 'write' for owner and group. And click on the OK button.

IF TELNETTING INTO YOUR SITE:

To get to the directory, type: cd /full_directory/path/as indicated/in_the_error/message_above
To set permissions on the file, type: chmod 664 answers.txt

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Webpage Builder FAQ's
How do I modify Webbuilder's look and feel?
All the files referenced in this FAQ are in the /webbuilder directory unless otherwise noted.
There are certain pages in these files that should not be edited with an html editor, these will be noted with each pages explanation.
Always make backups of your files before editing to insure that you can recover easily from errors and mistakes.
The webbuilder.html file is the introductory page to the webbuilder process.

This page collects the page name and location information, page background and text color information.
This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The editpage.html is the page displayed to facilitate editing of a previously built page.

This page collects the directory and page name data in order for the cgi to access the page for editing.
This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The endmake.html page displays when the user has completed making a page.

This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The endedit.html page displays when the user has completed editing a page.

This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The noname.html page displays when the user has left a required field blank in a form.

This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The nosub.html field displays when the user specifies a page name or subdirectory that does not exist.

This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The samename.html page displays when a user has chosen a duplicate filename or directory name.

This page can be edited in an html editor without problem.
The error.html and criterror.html pages display faults that will inhibit program execution.

We recommend these pages be left as is.
The form1.htt page is a template page that the cgi uses to display the second page of the page building process.

This page superficially looks like regular html code, but it has ${...} replacement tags all through the file and the positioning of the lines against the left margin is critical to enable the cgi to read the file for production of the actual html page.
You may make any html changes to the page that do not interfere with the cgi, but do so only in a text editor (like Windows Notepad).
Also be sure you FTP your file back to your site in ASCII mode (Text mode for MACs) to insure that your file does not become corrupted.
Always make backups of your files before editing to insure that you can recover easily from errors and mistakes.
The pageA.htt, pageB.htt, and pageC.htt files are the template files that the users page is built from.
You may want to change these pages if you've designed a different layout, you may want to add or remove layout pages from the form1.htt to meet your site requirements.

This page superficially looks like regular html code, but it has ${...} replacement tags all through the file and the positioning of the lines against the left margin is critical to enable the cgi to read the file for production of the actual html page.
You may make any html changes to the page that do not interfere with the cgi, but do so only in a text editor (like Windows Notepad).
Also be sure you FTP your file back to your site in ASCII mode (Text mode for MACs) to insure that your file does not become corrupted.
Always make backups of your files before editing to insure that you can recover easily from errors and mistakes.
We hope you found this information helpful.

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